The Ancient Key
by Katus
Summary: Avalanche is in the Bone Village trying to find the Ancient Key. But it is frusterating. But sometimes when you are focusing too hard, it's best to just relax. A little bit CloudTifa and CloudAeris.


_Disclaimer: I do not own FF7._

_A/N: I thought of this story when I was over my friend's house. I remember how hard it was for me to find the ancient key in the Bone Village and I thought it would be a great story to write about it. Mostly some of the characters in the story kind'a resembles my frusteration in finding the key. And believe or not, this story has a moral vaule to it! It's basically how I end up finding the Ancient Key in the first place without using a walkthrough. I was like...nine or ten years old when I was stuck on this part. There is a little bit of Cloud/Tifa and Cloud/Aeris (I guess). Anyway, on with the story._

* * *

"I don't think it's too late." Tifa said before stepping inside the inn. 

It's been a couple of day since they were trying to find the ancient key to get into the ancient city. As the darkness cover the orange setting sky, Cloud, Tifa, and Barret decided to call it day yet again. It was a bit frustrating for the all of them. Not only did they felt like they were on a time limit, but deep inside they felt like they were already too late. Every time they see each other, they look like a desperate person trying to find help.

"…We'll find it." Cloud said trying to show confidence.

Regardless of the confidence words that people usually bring a team up to their high sprits; those words only seem like believing in false hope. All three of them knew that they probably will not find the key to the ancient city. Why believe in something that is not true? It would be just a waste of time believing in something crazy like that. Even Cloud eyes showed a bit of weakness. Like a flower that is slowly dying as the days go by. Words mean nothing anymore. It is just a matter of how far are you willing to go. Optimistic was welcome, but not believed deep inside.

"Man….I hate this crap." Barret grumbled.

Cloud turned to look at him and thought about saying something. But decided it was not worth it. Barret eyes were red and it almost seemed like he was getting gray hair. Without saying much he knew what Barret meant and he agreed. The situation was getting under his skin. And the town they were in was just utterly crap. Every time they came out of the sorry excuse for an inn, they came across a worst element of the world's environment. Everything about the place is just so tiring. It was like tossing a house cat into a massive junkyard and it could only get out if it finds a certain pin.

The place they were in now just seems so similar to a massive junkyard. Cloud watched Barret go inside and without any delay, he and Tifa did the same. The inside of the inn seemed a bit much better than anything that was outside. But that was still not saying much. Inside just rot of either drunken workers that are violent, stupid, or trying to be friendly but have a wrong method of doing so or people are just complaining about their work after their shift is over. The smell of the inn was either sweat or alcohol. It was just annoying to him. It was not like that all the time, but most of the time.

"Not so mu' luck t'day either?" A man that managed the tent said as he saw the three of them past. "I su'pose yur friends will tak' over fer ya now."

Tifa nodded and Barret just said with a grunt "yeah" as they went pass him.

The man nodded and just watched them went by.

They went where they were supposed to sleep and found Cid, Yuffie and Vincent there. They did not even look at Cloud, Tifa and Barret to know what they had to do. They could just feel it in the atmosphere.

"No luck again," Cid said and he slapped his head as if he wanted it to work. "Damn it…ok, let's get moving."

"Again? Why is this so hard?" Yuffie exclaimed.

"Don't start complaining kid." Cid said.

Yuffie mumbled something along the lines of, "Shut up old man," but nobody else besides Cloud seemed to hear or cared about her comment.

Without anything else to say, they went off doing what came to be a routine for the past couple of days.

Cloud sat down on his bed and covered his eyes, thinking if tonight will be the night to find the key. Time was not on their side, anything could happen. Hopefully nothing has happen that made their efforts all in vain. He hated just sitting there and doing nothing, not knowing what has happen to Aeris. He heard his campaigns sat on their beds, he begin to wonder if they are thinking the same thing too. He removed his hands away from his eyes and blinked for a moment to get his eyes adjust to his surroundings.

Barret had his head over his head, like he was having a major headache that could be absorbed by the palm of his hand. Cloud wish it could work that way so he wouldn't have to deal with the pain either. Cloud eyes drift towards Tifa. Tifa had her head on her hands like they were the only reason why her head is intact with her body. Her eyes were staring towards the ground, but it seemed like she was lost in her thoughts. Her legs were crossed, swinging back and forward.

"…This is annoying." Barret said bluntly.

Cloud turned his eyes towards him but did not say anything. Barret hand was now away from his forehead and on the side of his lap.

"We might as well just…j-just…ergh!" Barret grunted when he could not find any particular words to finish what he started.

Cloud figured he meant to say give up. If he would've said it, Cloud was not sure if he would get angry or not. But it had been just a few minutes when he said that they will find it, trying to boast their and his sprits up.

"I know…it's-it's irritating." Tifa said, no longer lost in her thoughts. "But y'know we cannot give up. Aeris would not give up on us."

Barret quickly shook his head. "I didn't mean give up Tifa…Not exactly. I-I think I…I jus' need something to get my mind off of this."

"Like what?" Tifa asked.

"I dunno. Jus' somethin'! I feel like we are jus' focusin' on dis' too much. I feel as if we need something that will take our minds off of dis' so we could feel more relax man." Barret said, looking at both Cloud and Tifa for signs of approval for a few seconds before continuing. "Y'know, maybe we are focusin' on dis' too hard and dat's why we are not finding it. Maybe if we do not worry bout' it we can find it?"

"…Maybe. Maybe we all are too apprehensive about the time limit we have set..." Tifa said. "…Or I have set for myself…"

'_A time limit,'_ Cloud thought. '_An unconfirmed time limit that I think we have all set.'_

"We probably just need some sleep." Tifa suggested. "We are all tired…but you are right Barret, I think. I know that I am focusing on the time…but let's talk about it later after we get some sleep huh?" She said lying down on the bed.

"…Can you really be able to sleep?" Cloud asked, finally placing himself in the conversation.

Tifa looked at him for a moment without saying anything. She put on a facial expression that was hard to read. The best way to describe her expression was that it was a mixture of a solicitous and pity expression. He was confused that her expression was relating to the question he asked or to something else. The thought came to mind that she did realize what he meant by the question and probably thought it was an obtuse question. He opened his mouth to say something but Tifa beat him to it.

"Like what Barret said, we could just relax our minds about the stress we are under." Tifa said.

Barret shook his head. "Yeah but-"

"The stress we all have right now won't get any better if we just sit here and think about it." Tifa interrupted him. "Plus it's not good for your mind."

"That's what I mean but-"

"So that's why we need to sleep too." Tifa interrupted him again.

Barret opened his mouth but then closed it again in a defeated expression. He mumbled something then he threw up his arms recklessly and collapsed on his bed. Cloud eyes turned towards Tifa again to find her staring at him. It was as if she was staring at him waiting for a reaction sign for her proposal. Cloud broke the eye contact between them and looked towards the ground. _It's somewhere…in the ground. _He thought. Regardless of him breaking the contact, he could still feel Tifa's stare. It was like a beam that was burning his skin. Slightly annoyed with her stare he thought about something that will stop her staring.

"Cloud…" She said in an anxious tone. "Even you cannot take this in and keep inside of you. It will eat you up, rest."

"…Alright," Cloud said in a frail tone, hoping that would satisfy Tifa enough.

Cloud laid down on his bed and tried to take his campaigns advice and relax his mind. But all he managed to do was to think about it even more. His mind wondered if they were going to find the key at all to if they find the key but it was too late. That's all he could think about it, how could he not think about it?

After a while, he heard Barret started his strident exasperating snores that would make anyone ears explode. He tried to ignore it and it wasn't all that difficult. He heard him snore much worst. Slowly and surely his eyes were getting heavier, eventually he ends up in a deep sleep.

----------

'_Am I going to make it?' _Cloud thought as he ran through beautiful yet aggravating forest. Everything about it seemed to taunt him, how could the environment be so gorgeous but something dark lies in it. He could feel it, there was something wrong up ahead. What could have happened that could make him feel this way? He have to find out, he have to find the poison that was inflicted in through out the forest. He wanted to stop it, he wanted to save it, he have to. It was his sole responsibility; he was the only able to. There wasn't anyone else there to help.

He jumped over broken branches, dark logs, and dodged low trees and felt that he was closer to his goal. It was only a little longer. But it wasn't what he expected. From what he saw, it wasn't a pleasant sight. There she was, laying down in a way that was blatant to Cloud, but he tried to deny it. He reluctantly walked closer slowly to see her clearly. His eyes began to water, his worst fear came true. The young flower girl who he promised that he would protect is…

_'Aeris…' _

The body suddenly stood up as if it was reacting to his thought. Her emotionless face turned into a face that he dreaded. It suddenly filled him with fright. Her long light brown hair turned into silver. Her attractive eyes turned into a glow that made his eyes hurt. It wasn't long before her feminine body changed into a masculine male body. He heard a loud noise that instantly made him dumbstruck.

"You…" Sephiroth said with a mischievous grin, "are too late."

The sound grew so loud that he was forced to bend down and hold his ears shut.

"Do you hear that sound?" Sephiroth asked holding his long masamune up high. Even though the sound was loud, he could still hear Sephiroth very clearly. It was like he was speaking into his mind. "That is the sound of your failure." He flipped his deadly sword around. "The sound of your pathetic rescue mission." He pointed the sword towards Cloud's skull. Cloud wanted to move but it was useless, his body would not budge. "It is the sound of death you disastrous puppet." The sound exploded that pierced his ears and without hesitation, he thrust his sword through Cloud's skull.

-----------------

Cloud sat up immediately from his bed to find he was back in the inn with a dreadful snore of Barret that grew louder since he went asleep. '_…So that was the sound I kept hearing…'_ He thought. _'I don't know if I should thank you or slap you Barret…' _Cloud thought looking at him.

It was the last straw however; he could not go to sleep again. Even if he wanted to, Barret's snoring would prevent him from going back to sleep. He stood up from his bed and looked towards Tifa's bed. She had her back turned away from him and he assumed that she was asleep. This makes it all the better, he had to go out. He couldn't stand around doing nothing. Apparently he could not get any sleep anymore because his fears will bother him. He might as well help the rest of his comrades out.

He decided he will walk carefully so he will not wake the others. Especially Tifa, he did not need her to question him, not right now. When he got to the door, he saw that Tifa turned in her sleeping position towards him now. He looked at her for a moment to analyze her. Her face showed a sign of wary but appeared asleep nonetheless. Perhaps she was having a bad dream like he had? But how could she manage to sleep through Barret's ear piercing performance that he is displaying was as elusive as the current situation they are in right now. Regardless, he continued to walk through door carefully, leaving behind him dreams that were unwanted.

When he was outside, he did not feel any better. Now all he need is to look for them, Yuffie, Cid, and Vincent. Maybe tonight would be the night. And hopefully he will never have to face what he had to face in his dream. That dream was poison that will slowly take over him if he did not find out the truth.

"Cloud…"

The call of his name made him jump a little and he turned behind him to where the source came from to find his childhood friend there standing with a similar wary face when he saw her on the bed. Her hair slightly covered her right side of her eye and her cloths seemed to be slightly wrinkled. If he could have guessed, Tifa rushed outside.

Cloud turned his head to the side, unable to look at her. "…I thought you were asleep."

Tifa shook her head and moved her hair away from her right side of her eye. "No…I was trying to. I thought I heard you leaving the room. I wondered what was wrong…"

"…Nothing." Cloud lied.

Why didn't he tell her? It was because he did not want to talk about it, he did not want to be reminded. He forced himself to look at Tifa who had her eyes set on him. "Nothing's wrong." He assured her. "I just could not get any sleep."

Tifa slightly smiled. "Is it because of Barret's snoring?"

He did not answer; he did not feel the need to. He looked at her wondering if he was going to be integrated. But he knew it was very unlikely for her to back inside without him although he wished otherwise so he would have stay here. He did not wish to explain how he felt right now.

"Are you going to join them to look for the key again?" She asked.

Cloud simply just nodded. "I can't go back to sleep." He added.

"Yeah, I guess you couldn't the way Barret is sleeping right now." Tifa said, but it seemed as though she was speaking to herself rather than to him. "I suppose we could wake Barret up, that will stop him from snoring so loudly."

Cloud did not reply back.

"I-I suppose," Tifa took a step forward, "we could look for the others."

"…We?" Cloud asked with a bit of confusion in his voice. "You're not going back to sleep?"

Tifa shook her head and smiled. "Cloud…I couldn't go to sleep now. I was never sleep to begin with. If you want to find the others then I would want in."

"…Ok." Cloud said.

Tifa smiled but there was something in her eyes that did not connect with the optimistic attitude she shown to him. "Is there something you wanted to talk to me about?" Cloud asked without realizing he said that out loud until it was too late.

Tifa smiled disappeared the second he asked that question. He knew what he had done. He triggered a conversation he wanted to avoid, but he could not help himself. His curiosity got the best of him. He just wanted to know what was making Tifa so wary lately but he knew it was going to involve him somehow.

"Yes," She admitted. For the first time since she came out she looked away from Cloud. "I…I'm scared…"

Cloud eyes widen a bit. After a short stop she continued to follow up on her statement. "…Everything about this. As I said before, I feel like we are racing against time and I don't want to be too late…I know I said we shouldn't worry about it so much but…"

"Tifa," Cloud started but couldn't find the any words that would seem fit to say.

"Cloud…I'm," Tifa took a step closer. "I…I don't want you to face this alone."

"…I don't-" Cloud started but did not finish because Tifa shook her head.

"You know what I mean." Tifa said. "You always keep things bundle up inside you. It's…I don't want to see you blaming everything on yourself. Because…I…" But she couldn't finish.

_'Tifa…' _Cloud thought. _'Why do you worry so much about me…why can't you just…' _

"Even now," Tifa said, interrupting his thought, "you are keeping everything to yourself. You hardly talk to anyone about yourself…which is why I am scared. Whatever happens know that you do not have to take things alone…ok?" Tifa said, as if she was pleading. "Know that I'm…we're always here for you."

Cloud put his hand on her shoulder. "I know…" Cloud said simply. Tifa looked at him deeply.

Tifa leaned a bit closer to Cloud's face to kiss him on the cheek. "Thank you…"

"DAMN IT!!" A familiar voice shouted.

Cloud and Tifa both jumped a little and turned to the direction of the voice. It was Cid carrying Yuffie. Vincent was behind them looking a mixture of satisfied and irritated.

"Yo!" Cid called out to them. "I have good news and bad news."

Cloud raised his eyebrows but Tifa was the first one to respond out of the two. "What happen to Yuffie?"

"Well that's the damn bad news…" Cid grunted.

"She is drunk…" Vincent said.

"She's what?" Tifa exclaimed.

"Diss old maan," Yuffie said. "Heh kept callin me a kid. I ams not a damn kid!"

Cid took a heavy sigh. "I called her a kid and she kept getting mad. When I was drinking my beer, she said she could handle drinking as much as any man. Well…"

"She took one bottle…" Vincent mumbled.

"Hell yeah," Cid shout out. "She took my beer saying she could handle it! What the hell? Isn't she underage anyway? Taking my beer, a insult that you do not cross damn it! And now she is paying the damn price! Drunk after drinking MY beer! Freakin' kid can't even walk correctly!"

"I AM NOT DRUNK!" Yuffie shouted. "You…you drunk!"

Cloud sighed. "And what's the good news?"

Vincent and Cid both looked at each other for a moment as if debating who will tell it.

"I found teh key!" Yuffie yelled.

"What?" Cloud asked, not believing his ears.

"Yeah," Cid started. "After she got drunk she told the workers where to dig. A damn lucky call if you ask me."

"She wasn't even trying," Vincent said.

"This is great!" Tifa said. "We need to contact Cath Sith and Red XIII right away. I'll go wake up Barret!"

'_She found it when she was drunk?' _Cloud thought. Cloud chuckled slightly, of all the times they tried to find the key, an underage drunk teenager end up finding it. And at that moment, Cloud felt his sprit lighten up.

* * *

_A/N: How did you like it? Anyway, the moral of this story is not to focus too hard. Sometimes when you try too hard, you end up not getting what you want to get. Basically, beggers can't be choosers. This was meant to be originally a one shot, but I might expand on it and make more Cloud/Tifa or Cloud/Aeris moments if I get enough reviews that want more. I will probably make this fic into a romantic fanfic depending on the reviewers. So, if you like it and want it to be about more romantic, either Cloud/Tifa, Aeris or ANY other character let me know.  
_

_ Oh yeah, if this stay a one shot fic, it'll be the first ever story that I finished! I don't know if I should be happy about that.  
_


End file.
